William Kerrigan
William Kerrigan is a historian and writer. His most recent book is
"West Virginia's War." (Ohio University Press, June 2025)
Runaway Virginia slave deceived by rescuer changed public opinion in Ohio
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — On a September morning in 1856, attorney James Jackson awoke to learn that one of the people he claimed to be his property had stolen one of his horses and fled for freedom. Jackson was a member of one of Harrison County’s most prominent families...
Once controversial, Mountaineer war memorial hides at the West Virginia capitol
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Motorists driving along Kanawha Boulevard past the West Virginia Capitol may notice three Civil War monuments prominently arrayed along the lawn. One is of a Union soldier wearing a cap, or kepi, of the kind associated with that uniform. Next is a...
Charles Town grave marks the last resting place of restless John Yeats Beall
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — In the Zion Episcopal churchyard in Charles Town, West Virginia, lies the grave of John Yates Beall, one of the state’s most audacious Confederate partisans. Beall was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, in 1835, and grew up in a wealthy, slave...
The Bustle Flag: How Martinsburg’s Unionist women defied the Confederacy
MARTINSBURG, W.Va — The prosperous manufacturing town of Martinsburg in Berkeley County, West Virginia, was thrust into turmoil at the outset of the Civil War, and its citizens had to decide where their allegiance lay. As the secession movement gathered steam in...
The histories of the Grimes Golden and Golden Delicious apples in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Around 1790, in a small clearing on a ridge above Wellsburg, West Virginia, a pioneer settler named Edward Cranford planted a nursery of apple trees from seed, hoping one day to turn them into a productive orchard. Apple trees grown from seed rarely...
Remarkable encounter: John Brown’s final moments witnessed by Stonewall Jackson
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — On December 1, 1859, abolitionist John Brown, having been convicted and sentenced to death for planning and executing an uprising in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, delivered a final statement to his jailer that he wished to be shared with the public:...
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William Kerrigan
Runaway Virginia slave deceived by rescuer changed public opinion in Ohio
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — On a September morning in 1856, attorney James Jackson awoke to learn that one of the people he claimed to be his property had stolen one of his horses and fled for freedom. Jackson was a member of one of Harrison County’s most prominent families...
Once controversial, Mountaineer war memorial hides at the West Virginia capitol
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Motorists driving along Kanawha Boulevard past the West Virginia Capitol may notice three Civil War monuments prominently arrayed along the lawn. One is of a Union soldier wearing a cap, or kepi, of the kind associated with that uniform. Next is a...
Charles Town grave marks the last resting place of restless John Yeats Beall
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — In the Zion Episcopal churchyard in Charles Town, West Virginia, lies the grave of John Yates Beall, one of the state’s most audacious Confederate partisans. Beall was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, in 1835, and grew up in a wealthy, slave...
The Bustle Flag: How Martinsburg’s Unionist women defied the Confederacy
MARTINSBURG, W.Va — The prosperous manufacturing town of Martinsburg in Berkeley County, West Virginia, was thrust into turmoil at the outset of the Civil War, and its citizens had to decide where their allegiance lay. As the secession movement gathered steam in...
The histories of the Grimes Golden and Golden Delicious apples in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Around 1790, in a small clearing on a ridge above Wellsburg, West Virginia, a pioneer settler named Edward Cranford planted a nursery of apple trees from seed, hoping one day to turn them into a productive orchard. Apple trees grown from seed rarely...
Remarkable encounter: John Brown’s final moments witnessed by Stonewall Jackson
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — On December 1, 1859, abolitionist John Brown, having been convicted and sentenced to death for planning and executing an uprising in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, delivered a final statement to his jailer that he wished to be shared with the public:...